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2015

It's Back! fiveFilms4freedom 2016 - LGBT films for the world

Coming in March 2016 | Global

As BFI Flare, London's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Film Festival, screened for the capital's viewers in 2015, we staged an ambitious programme to make five of the Festival's films available free for everyone everywhere. Now we're looking for your help to do it all again in 2016.

You took part - Talking about #FiveFilms4FreedomOur five films were available to view by everyone from 19-29 March 2015, and we asked people around the world to watch just one of the five films then tweet, talk about it and share on social media to show that love is a basic human right. Millions of you did just that - have a look at #FiveFilms4Freedom to see what people thought.

fiveFilms4freedom was the first time either the British Council or the British Film Institute had initiated a global, digital human rights film event. In fact, fiveFilms4freedom was the world’s first global, digital LGBT film festival.

From 19–29 March 2015, audiences in London enjoyed BFI Flare. For the first time ever the British Council and BFI Flare made 5 short films available free and online for people around the world, through the BFI Player.

Our first five films represented a cross section of contemporary LGBT short film. The films were made by lesbians, gay men and trans filmmakers, and ranged from sweet short stories about first love, through political challenge, to exuberant activism. They are polished, rough, funny, sad and inspiring. They each have a different voice.

On one single day - Wednesday 25 March 2015 - fiveFilms4freedom asked the world to watch a movie together and show that love is a basic human right.

fiveFilms4freedom will be back in 2016 - it is a chance for audiences everywhere to enjoy a taster of LGBT cinema; to find out a little bit more about emerging LGBT filmmakers from around the world; and most importantly, to show support for freedom and equality everywhere.

You can no longer view the first fiveFilms online - but you can find out more about the films by scrolling to the foot of this page and clicking the links below - and you can still watch a special interview with each of the five filmmakers by clicking here.

Charles Radcliffe, Chief of Global Issues at the United Nations Human Rights Office, and Head of the UN Free and Equal campaign, helped launch the 2015#fiveFilms4freedom campaign to ask the world to watch a movie and show that love is a human right.

Working in schools?Our Schools Online team has developed a resource pack for use in schools, focussing on two of our fiveFilms, Code Academy and An Afternoon. Aimed at pupils ages 14+, the pack uses the films to stimulate student discussion. (NB. in some countries teachers may prefer to use this material with older students). You can download the pack on the right of this page - and see many more resources for schools athttps://schoolsonline.britishcouncil.org

More on this...

19th March 2015True Wheel

Welcome to Fender Bender, a bicycle workshop collective for the queer, trans and women’s communities of Detroit.

19th March 2015Morning is Broken

At the end of his older brother’s wedding in the lush English countryside, a young man struggles to deal with his sexuality.

Director Simon Anderson talks about his debut short:

'Morning is Broken is a coming-of-age short film about a young man who is struggling to deal with the uncertainty of his sexuality. This is a story that, I feel, resonates with any person growing up in a culture that sees 'being gay' as negative, akin to a failure. A major part of growing up is exploring who you are, making mistakes and coming to terms with what you like and don't like. Sam's struggle to accept his own sexuality is something I believe many people will relate to. Homophobia and the use of 'gay' as a curse word at school can make many people feel that they must silence what they want, in place of what society views as a success. I hope that this film will explore these issues in an interesting and visually arresting way, while showing that true success and happiness is not always achieved by accepting what others expect of you.'